**Paris (France) (AFP) – The latest developments in the Middle East war:**
– **UAE responds to strikes**
The United Arab Emirates said on Friday its air defenses engaged missiles and drones coming from Iran. “UAE air defenses are currently engaging missile and drone attacks originating from Iran,” the defense ministry said on X, adding that interception sounds were heard “across various parts of the country.”
– **Oil prices jump**
Oil prices, which fell around 10 percent over the past three days, rose more than one percent on Friday as US-Iran clashes in the Strait of Hormuz jolted hopes that the conflict will end soon. At around 0230 GMT, the benchmark US oil contract West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed 1.2 percent to $95.93 per barrel. International oil benchmark Brent North Sea crude rose 1.5 percent to $101.56. Equity markets retreated, with Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, Shanghai, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei, Manila, and Jakarta also down.
– **Trump says ceasefire still on**
President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was still in place Thursday, despite exchanges of fire with Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz. “They trifled with us today. We blew them away,” he told reporters in Washington, insisting that talks were “going very well.” Earlier, Trump had posted on his Truth Social platform that US forces dealt “great damage” to Iranian attackers after three American naval destroyers came under fire while transiting the strait. “We’ll knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future, if they don’t get their Deal signed, FAST!” he said.
– **US, Iran trade fire**
The US military said that Iranian forces launched multiple missiles, drones, and small boats at the three US warships, but none were hit. US forces “eliminated inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible” for the attack, Central Command said in a post on X. For its part, Iran’s central military command said its forces had retaliated for the United States targeting an Iranian oil tanker and another ship in the strait, in violation of a ceasefire, according to a statement quoted by state TV.
– **Lebanon says 12 killed in Israel strikes**
Lebanon’s health ministry reported at least 12 people killed, including two children and a paramedic, in a series of Israeli airstrikes on Thursday. The new deaths came a day after Israel killed a Hezbollah commander in its first attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs since the shaky truce sought to end weeks of fighting.
– **1,500 ships trapped in Gulf**
Around 1,500 ships and 20,000 crewmen remained trapped in the Gulf due to the Iranian blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, the UN’s International Maritime Organization chief Arsenio Dominguez said in Panama.
– **Lebanon, Israel to hold new talks**
Lebanon and Israel will hold a new round of talks on May 14-15 in Washington on seeking a peace deal, despite a new Israeli strike against Hezbollah, a US official said Thursday.
– **Israel claims killing of Hezbollah commander**
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday claimed responsibility for the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut the previous day, saying “no terrorist is immune” from Israeli strikes. Israel’s military pummelled targets in southern Lebanon again on Thursday, state media and AFP correspondents said.
– **Iran president meets supreme leader**
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he had met the country’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since his appointment in early March. The meeting came as Washington waited for Iran’s response to its latest proposed deal to end the war and reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping route, with Trump saying an agreement could be close.
– **Rubio meets pope amid war tensions**
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the war with the pope as they met on Thursday against the backdrop of sharp tensions between the White House and the Vatican, notably over the Middle East conflict. Rubio also met the Vatican secretary of state to discuss efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East, his spokesman said.
© 2024 AFP
